The Cantey-Myers Collection Leads the Way

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It is our privilege to be associated with Mr. Emory Cantey Jr. and his remarkable Civil War image collection known as the Cantey-Myers Collection. Thanks to this collection, Quantrill relatives and researchers are able to refute the deceit in the irresponsible and sensationalized stories that has been written discrediting our Missouri heroes. Mr. Cantey states, "It gives me great pleasure to finally begin to share with the public the personal Missouri guerrilla image collection of August Myers. Myers was a Quantrill guerrilla and the designated archivist of the Missouri guerrilla and partisan ranger groups in Missouri during the Civil War. His father-in-law was E. A. Baldwin who was the accepted photographer of both the Confederate and Union sides in Missouri during the war and he operated out of his traveling photography saloon wagon. The collection was accumulated between the 1850 to 1900 period by Gus Myers and, later, with his son George Myers, Senior. It remained in sealed crates, documented by a handwritten collection journal, for over 70 years until its purchase process was agreed on between the Myers family and Emory Cantey, Jr. beginning in 2007."

One story of historical significance is the legend of Ann E. Fickle presenting Quantrill with a Black Flag with QUANTRELL spelled in blood red letters. This story has been dismissed by critics for over 130 years despite the fact the story was originally published in 1882 by J. W. Buel in his book, The Border Outlaws, which was one of the first published after the death of the REAL Jesse Woodson James in 1882. Now thanks to the Cantey-Myers Collection we not only see what Ann E. Fickle looks like. We also are privileged to be allowed to to view another newly re-discovered historically groundbreaking image and additional data which provides overwhelming credence to the story. The Cantey-Myers Collection also shows the photo of sixteen-year-old guerrilla Jack Swartz, who is noted in photographer Augustus Myer's journal as being the flag bearer on Quantrill's Lawrence raid. Further provenance is shown in a newspaper article published November 2, 1923 by the Independence Examiner and various other newspapers, stating that Jack Swartz rode with Quantrill at Lawrence carrying the infamous Black Flag. The story reports Swartz's final wish was to buried wrapped in the flag he carried when he rode with Quantrill at Lawrence. Sadly, Swartz's last wish was not granted when he passed away. The article states that the flag was taken by a Mr. S. H. Sutherland of El Paso, where it's current location is unknown. The recent discovery of these historical photographs along with the documented accounts from numerous sources gives credence that Quantrill infamous Black Flag not only existed, but that it was carried in battle, and it survived the war and ended up in the hands of someone who wanted to preserve it.

Another interesting story about Jack Swartz is that he was one of the numerous black Confederate soldiers who served under Quantrill. Thanks to the Cantey-Myers Collection you can see images of over half a dozen "Black Confederates," as documented in the story "The Third Greatest Myth of the Civil War" displayed on our website. I would like nothing better than to list every historically significant item housed within this vast collection, such as the only known armed image of Confederate Colonel Upton B Hayes, but it would be a pointless task because the list is ever evolving. Mr.Cantey continues to add photo images at a breathtaking pace. This ground breaking collection also features many of the lesser known guerrillas such as John Thrailkill and Sam Hildebrand, many of whom had no known images until the Cantey-Myers Collection was unveiled. There are also numerous previously unpublished images of Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, and others and the list goes on and on.Below is the armed image of Col. Upton Hays

The Cantey-Myers Collection is only one place in the world where you will find such a vast photographic collection of Missouri Guerrillas and Confederate images. We invite you to simply click on the link below and be connected to the Cantey-Myers Collection, and don't forget to bookmark it. You're only one click away so don't delay. And don't forget to book mark quantrillsguerrillas.com before you go, because we will always feature vast amounts of different content than the Cantey-Myers Collection. Two Quantrill's Guerrillas websites are better than one. Thank you Emory Cantey, Jr. for sharing your remarkable collection and continuing to lead the way.